


Tears Remind You You’re Alive

by NarryEm



Series: Psychological Thrillers [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Future, Blow Jobs, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Frottage, Gay Sex, Horror, Kinda, M/M, Multi, Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror, Rimming, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 00:22:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2448482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/NarryEm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall, along with eight other guys, are chosen to participate in this year’s Run and they dread it so much.  None of the survivors ever come out of the Heartbeat Mansion unchanged and the details are never released to the public.  Can they all survive the horrors that await them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tears Remind You You’re Alive

**Author's Note:**

> title from Even My Dad Does Sometimes by Ed Sheeran.
> 
> The first scene with Niall in the Mansion is pretty much a nightmare I had recently. The rest was inspired by _The Hunger Games_ and _The Maze Runner_ I guess.

 

_In the year 2015, human society has endured yet another world war. Those who started it, the lower socioeconomic class, were brutally put down and brought into order. The ruling class, less than one percent of the entire population, decided to teach all who revolted once and for all that the Capitol was absolute. The ruling class from the topmost echelon, the Council, devised an annual game called the Run where nine youths from the lower class would be chosen to participate in a game. In a different lottery, twenty-six children with history of violent behaviour and disobedience are picked. They are injected with a serum that send them into a schizophrenic frenzy where they are deluded into thinking that the Runners are out to either save them or kill them.  None of this is known to the public.  The world only knows that the Runners are put into a giant mansion called the Heartbeat Mansion. Every year, the Runners are instucted to open each room they encounter and never let the kids out. Each time they let their heart win and release a child, consequences will be severe._

 

 

 

_-_

 

 

 

 

Niall tosses another rock in the ocean and sighs. The Northwest Block is the one close to what used to be known as Ireland, and the beach he’s at was once called the Irish Sea. Now it’s just the Northwest Sea. Nothing hold special names anymore; everything has been conformed to unity and order.

And today . . . today is the Day of Choosing.

It’s the summer solstice today and at noon, the Capitol will be choosing nine ‘brave youths’ to participate in this year’s Run. Everyone between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five are eligible for the lottery and once a name is picked, there is no going back. Rarely will someone volunteer for the sake of another.

Niall knows that he is only delaying the inevitable by throwing rock into the ocean water and hating the world. It’s law that everyone watches the televised lottery and the offense of not doing so is punishable by imprisonment or even death, depending on how the police feel that day.

With a heaving sigh, Niall throws his last stone and stands up. He dusts off his trousers and then starts on his way home. The whole town is deserted, everyone already having returned to their home. There is a certain beauty to the void, really, in some dark way, he supposes. His house is one of the better ones: all four walls are relatively intact and the roof isn’t leaky or anything. His dog, Scott, greets him when he walks through the doorway. He’s some mutt whose origin that Niall can’t identify but he’s got fluffy brown and blond fur and honestly Niall’s best friend.

“Hey, bud,” Niall says, scratching him behind his ears. Scott immediately rolls around to demand belly rubs and Niall complies.

“Niall,” his dad calls out from the living room. “It’s time.”

“Okay.”

The screens switch on by themselves. Just like the other years, the presidential message plays, depicting how horrible the World War Three caused by the lower working class was. He shows quite graphic and gory pictures from the War and it’s sickens Niall to the core. Then, the screen cuts to a nice stage surrounded by white and gold garlands and other luxuries that people in the Blocks can’t even dream of.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” a beautiful yet tragically embellished and perfected hostess greets them. “Today is the Day of Choosing for the one hundredth Run. Within this hour, nine of the most courageous and honourable young men and women will be chosen to participate in this year’s Run. And because this is the centennial event, the Run promises to be extra special.”

In a few seconds, the screen behind her light up. “First contestant is . . . Ashton Irwin!” The name and his face shows up and linger for several seconds. “Harry Styles, Michael Clifford, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, Zayn Malik, and last but not least . . . Niall Horan!”

Niall stares at the screen, horrified. No, that can’t be. But it’s his face on the screen along with his name. His parents and brother stare at him with primal fear in their eyes. Greg is the first to come up and wrap him up in a tight embrace.

“No, this can’t be real,” Greg mumbles, voice shaky from tears. “You can’t go.”

Yet there are knocks coming from the front door. The Collectors are already here, ready to take Niall to the Capitol. Niall quickly kisses everyone and promises, “I’ll come back. Dunno if I’ll still be me but nonetheless, I will come home.”

He walks out the door and the Collectors in their black uniforms guide him to the town square. The hovercraft above sends a beam down and Niall along his two Collectors are shot up into the hovercraft. The interior is filled to the brim with fineries that Niall has never known before. He is escorted to his room and he just strips down to his underwear and collapses onto the bed. All he wants to do now is sleep and hopefully wake up from this surreal nightmare.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

The Capitol is garish, Harry thinks. He’s looking out the window in his compartment and the closer they fly to the Capitol, the more colourful and flashy it becomes. There are throngs of people gathered in the landing pad and Harry already dreads it. This year, all the Runners are male and that at least rules out all the crying and potential romantic development.

An announcement comes on and they are notified that they will be landing in ten minutes. Harry is instructed to wear the outfit prepared for him in the closet. It’s a simple black blazer, black slacks, and a generic dark green button-down. The clothes feel too smooth and foreign on him, as opposed to the stitched up hand-me-downs he used to wear.

He knows that they’ve landed despite the lack of sensation of descent due to the loud cheers outside the hovercraft. Thousands of people are gathered to catch a glimpse of the Runners before they are transported to the Heartbeat Mansion and perhaps never be seen again. Some of the survivors decide to live in Capitol as included in the prize and the airheaded Capitol citizens will be lining up to vie for their attention. It’s all superficial and foolish, really, but it’s just the way it is.

The Runners are paraded through the Capitol town square and then loaded up to another hovercraft, this time all nine of them lumped together. A couple of people in formal clothes stare them down and Harry fidgets uncomfortably.

“You have been Chosen to be the Runner for this year,” a woman in all-black uniform states coldly. “In this event, you will be placed in the Heartbeat Mansion for as long as it is necessary for you to all complete your mission and come out or perish, either is fine. In the Mansion, there are twenty-six rooms, all labelled alphabetically. A is found in the northwest corner of the house and continues east from there with Z being in the southeast corner of the Mansion. The interior is maze-like and filled with some obstacles. The rooms and the hallways are equipped with cameras so we will always know your location and what you’re doing. You will be released from the Mansion once you have collectively checked all twenty-six rooms.

“In each room, you will find a kid who has severe behaviour issues. You must open every door you come across unless it is empty and if you pass one by, even by mistake, you will be punished. Under no circumstance must you let them out of the room. They will lie and try to manipulate you. If you let them leave the room with your, both the child and you will be punished.

“There are safe zones throughout the Mansion marked by a green square. Those are the zones where you will not be met with a challenge or threat. To rest, you must first find the safe zones. You are allowed to ally yourself with other Runners, but you must choose wisely. Once you team up with a Runner, you are not allowed to separate unless the teammate is dead. If you wish to separate, you must fight to death.”

Harry feels as though he might throw up. The public isn’t privy to the details of the Run and this is quite the shock for Harry. This is absurd and inhumane! How can the Council do this every year?

Before Harry can verbalise his questions, people in white lab coats start to come around with syringes. “What is this?” Harry asks, weary of the thin metal needles.

“Energy boost for the first day or so,” the lab coat answers gruffly. The shot stings going in and after mere seconds, Harry finds himself struggling to keep his eyes open. Lying bastards!

The last thing he sees before blackness covers up his entire vision is a shock of blond hair somewhere in the hovercraft. Like the colour of late afternoon sunlight . . . .

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Niall opens his eyes and sees that he has been transported to a corridor that’s been coloured with bright oranges and lime greens that actually hurt his eyes. He slowly gets to his feet and sees that there is a knapsack small ways from him. The blonde immediately opens it up and checks the contents. It’s got a container with food pellets and a gallon of purified water, spare clothes, a basic first-aid kit, and some objects he can’t identify yet.

There is a horrible feedback sound and Niall flinches. The speakers resound and then a voice announces, “Let the Run begin.” A loud mechanical gunfire sound is heard and Niall sprints off to a random direction.

He comes across a room within minutes. It’s labelled with a ‘ _W_ ’, so he assumes that he is in the southeast region of the Heartbeat Mansion. Hesitant, he twists the doorknob and slowly opens the door.

“Help me!” a small kid with light brown hair and a foaming mouth pleads. “I need to get out of here!”

Niall’s heart breaks at the sight. He wishes that his name and face hadn’t come up on that hologram this morning—or was it yesterday?

“Sorry, I can’t,” Niall grits out.

“I’ll die if I don’t!” the kid wails. She then suddenly grasps Niall’s forearms and digs her nails into his arms “Get me out of here!”

Niall panics and tries to wrench his arms away. “I’m not allowed!” He shakes her off and accidently causes her to hit her head on the wall. “Shit!” He checks for a pulse and sees that she has still got one.

He leaves the room in a reluctant daze. The moment the door shuts, though, sounds of loud buzzing fills the air. When Niall looks through the small window in the door, he sees no trace of the little girl. Dread knots in his stomach but he is reminded that this is all just a game to the Capitol and he can’t do anything to fight it.

The next room goes the same. This time, it’s a little boy with light brown hair that reminds him of his younger self. When he leaves the room, some sort of smoke fills the room and the kid is gone again.

Just as Niall regains his bearings and sprints down the hallway, the lights go out all of a sudden. Niall freezes in place and when whirring noises start up, he blindly feels around until he finds a small alcove. He ducks into it and is immediately slammed up against the wall by someone. Soft, but panicked pants fill the tight space between them and Niall has to wait until his eyes adjust to the darkness.

First thing he notices is a pair of green-brown eyes that stare into his. They are partially covered by dump curly hair. Niall tries to convey the message that he won’t harm him and meets this other bloke’s gaze steadfastly. Minutes must have gone by before he is released and he slumps against the wall.

“Sorry, ‘bout that,” the other guy apologises in a hushed tone. He has a distinct South Block accent. “Had to make sure ya weren’t one of those dudes who’d kill to get out of this hellhole. Name’s Ashton.”

“Niall,” Niall answers. “Nothing personal, yeah? I already had to open up two doors and god only knows what happens to those poor kids. Who cares if they are demented? A life is a life and should be treated with respect.”

Ashton scoffs. “We’re talking about the same people who pick nine teenagers to run around in a mansion like headless chickens and ask them to abandon children even though we know they’ll die. They want to scar us mentally and they know what they’re doing. We don’t even know if there is more to this than watching kids go into their probable deaths. None of the survivors come out of the Run with their heads screwed on right. Something happens and it drives them nuts. We won’t know what it is until it’s too late.”

Niall bites his lip nervously. What Ashton’s saying is absolutely true. It terrifies Niall that this is happening to him, and he want so desperately to wake up and have this be all a particularly terrifying nightmare. But it’s not. He felt real pain when they injected him with some shite earlier. And like the lab coat people said, he does feel full of energy.

“At least they didn’t lie about the energy booster,” Niall comments.

“I feel like punching someone in the face. Like the Council people for example,” Ashton grins. Niall decides that he likes Ashton.

“Let’s team up. I think I won’t mind having you around,” Niall proposes.

“Cool. Just don’t decide you wanna kill me tomorrow,” Ashton jokes.

“Never. So how many rooms have you gone through already?”

“Started with _S_ , and now I’m at _W_. But I didn’t see _T_ , _U,_ or _V_ yet. I didn’t get electrocuted or anything so I guess they are in a different hallway.”

Niall ponders that. The person did say that the Heartbeat Mansion is laid out like a maze so there must be several different hallways that connect to one another at some point. “Yeah, probably. Let’s get out of here before something pops out of the hallway. It’s dark but I think our eyes are pretty used to the dark by now.”

“Agreed.”

They peek out from the alcove and find that there’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Slowly, they creep down the hall. It goes on like that for several minutes—maybe shorter, but it’s hard to tell in a windowless mansion—before something steps in front of them.

“Fuckin’ ‘ell’,” Niall breathes out. It’s a monster straight out of some horror movie with his grotesque, distorted face and fangs protruding out of its mouth. There are talons on the ends of its hands as well.

“If this is an obstacle, I would really hate to meet a threat,” Ashton half-jokes. “What have we got in the rucksack that can kill this thing?”

Niall shrugs. “It can’t be fast since it’s got two hundred pounds on us. Our best bet is to outrun it until we figure out a plan.”

“Gotcha.”

They feint to the left and sprint to its right side. The creature seems confused and that’s how they escape the thing. It doesn’t run after them but just to be safe, Niall keeps running.

“Wait, Niall—door!” Ashton calls out a few feet behind him. He halts abruptly and turns back. Missing a door even by mistake is punished, yeah? Niall jogs back to where Ashton is and sees a door labelled ‘ _U_ ’.

“Ready?” Niall asks.

Ashton gulps. “As ready as can be.”

The door opens without a sound and they see a small figure crouched in the corner of the room.   It’s a girl, judging by the dress and Niall approaches her slowly. There’s not been a sign of life so far and he wonders if children can die before a Runner gets to them. So far, the kids have disappeared _after_ he’s abandoned them.

Suddenly, the girl jumps up and latches onto him. Her blue eyes are bloodshot and saliva is running down her chin and neck as though she is a rabid animal. She snaps her teeth at them and they jump back.

“Holy shit,” Ashton breathes out, which pretty much sums up this little situation. “We need to get out, now.”

Except, they can’t. The door has locked down, which hasn’t happened before and that makes Niall’s stomach clench with dread. Does the Council intend to watch them put down an innocent child? This is so twisted and plainly wrong but Niall can’t conceive of any other way that they’ll be let out.

“Surely they aren’t . . .” Ashton seems to on the same wavelength.

“I don’t want to but we could,” Niall says. Then he leans in close to Ashton and whispers, “Pretend to kill her when we’ve only knocked her out. They’ll probably unlock the door and we can make a run for it.”

Ashton nods. Niall swallows hard before reaching for the child and wrapping his hands around her throat. He puts some pressure on it until the child’s eyes slip closed. Surely enough, the door clicks open and the two of them bolt out.

“Fucking hell,” Ashton growls out. “Is this how it’s gonna be? Us having to kill the kids and possibly each other too? Why do we have to suffer for what happened nearly a century ago? The people who actually started the War were punished but no, they have to engrain into our brains and we’re forever pawns in their grand game.”

Niall puts a comforting hand on Ashton’s shaking shoulder. “We’ll get through this. Together, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Harry tries to slow down his breathing as he sliding down against the corridor wall. He’s just come out of the fourth room ( _F_ ) and he’s pretty sure he just heard some electrical instrument go off in the room. When he peeks in, he sees nothing, of course.

The official from earlier said that he could form alliances with other people. But once he did, he can’t leave them until they die or they kill each other. It’s so brutal, forcing them to such extremes but they are the people who devised the Run. Evil and cruelty must run in their veins.

The energy boost they had given them in the hovercraft along with the anaesthetic is making him feel all wired up. He wants to curl up in a corner and cry or throw up and at the same time, go kick down a wall or something equally stupid and reckless. He chooses to go down the corridor in search of another room. It’s probably best that he tries to find room _A_ so that he can go down the alphabets in order.

And that is precisely when he literally runs smack into someone.

“Ooph!” he gasps out and lands solidly on that person’s chest.

“Sorry! You alright?” someone with a dialect from the North Block asks. Probably form the outskirts of that Block, then.

“Yeah, I think so.” Harry looks up to see a muscular chap with warm brown eyes and brown hair that’s shorn short. “Hey, wanna team up? You’re not gonna kill me or anything yeah?”

The other guy lets out a nervous laugh. “’Course not. I’m Liam, by the way. The Run is even more mental than I’d thought. Now I understand why the survivors always come back a bit crazy.”

Harry grimaces. “Yeah. I’m Harry. Let’s try to look for room _A_ , since it’ll make it easier for us to keep track of which rooms we’ve been in.”

Liam nods. “Sounds good to me.”

They half-jog down the hall and soon enough find a door labelled _D_. Harry gulps nervously before the twists the doorknob and slowly opens the door.

Inside the room, they find a small child who is stood in the centre of the room without a single movement. Bright, harsh lights fall down on him and it looks painful. Is Harry imagining the wisps of smoke rising from his shoulders?

“Hey, get back!” Liam urges the kid, who remains unresponsive. So Liam tackles him out of the beam of light and that’s when the kid starts to scream his little head off.

Startled, Liam lets go of him and the kid slumps to the ground. They exchange an urgent look and sprint out of the room.

“What the hell was that?” Liam asks no one in particular. “It was like his skin was burning off!”

Harry shakes his head. “I don’t know. Maybe we are both seeing things after the injection, maybe his skin really was burning off. This is wrong.”

“You’re telling me, mate. I don’t know if I can get through twenty-three more of these.”

Harry purses his lips. “We’ll have to try our best.”

 

 

-

 

 

 

Louis rubs at his eyes, angry at the tears that are spilling out. It’s not his fault, he chants in his head. He can’t let the girl out even though the sound he just heard meant that something terrible happened to her. It’s the Council members who are at fault here. The fault in their world has always been with the demented psychopaths who rule the nation.

“Are you doing alright?” a heavy Middle-North Block accented voice asks. It’s low and husky too, and Louis slowly raises his head.

“No . . .” he admits, wiping at his eyes. “Got four little sisters back home and just had to leave behind a blond girl who reminded me of them.”

The other boy looks at him with tender caramel-brown eyes that are framed with long and lush lashes. He tugs up at his shirtsleeves and wipes them under Louis’ eyes. “Yeah, got two little ones and an older sister back home too. I’m Zayn.”

“Louis,” he sniffles. “Do you wanna team up with me?”

Zayn smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling up. “Sure. We’ll make it out alive, you’ll see.” He helps Louis off the floor—when had he crouched down on the floor anyway?—and hugs him briefly.

“Thanks.”

They start down the corridor and it’s eerily quiet. If they were in a movie, it’s a dead giveaway that something climactic is about to happen. Under these circumstances, they might as well be in their own little horror film.

“So, how many rooms have you gone through so far?” Zayn asks after a couple minutes of comfortable silence.

“Two. Reckon I might go mad before I get out of this hellhole, though.”

“You’re telling me, mate. I don’t know if I can get through twenty-three more of these.”

Harry purses his lips. “We’ll have to try our best.”

 

 

-

 

 

 

Louis rubs at his eyes, angry at the tears that are spilling out. It’s not his fault, he chants in his head. He can’t let the girl out even though the sound he just heard meant that something terrible happened to her. It’s the Council members who are at fault here. The fault in their world has always been with the demented psychopaths who rule the nation.

“Are you doing alright?” a heavy Middle-North Block accented voice asks. It’s low and husky too, and Louis slowly raises his head.

“No . . .” he admits, wiping at his eyes. “Got four little sisters back home and just had to leave behind a blond girl who looks like the oldest one of the bunch.”

The other boy looks at him with tender caramel-brown eyes that are framed with long and lush lashes. He tugs up at his shirtsleeves and wipes them under Louis’ eyes. “Yeah, got two little ones and an older sister back home too. I’m Zayn.”

“Louis,” he sniffles. “Do you wanna team up with me?”

Zayn smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling up. “Sure. We’ll make it out alive.  You’ll see.” He helps Louis off the floor—when had he crouched down on the floor anyway?—and hugs him briefly.

“Thanks.”

They start down the corridor and it’s eerily quiet. If they were in a movie, it’s a dead giveaway that something climactic is about to happen. Under these circumstances, they might as well be in their own little horror film.

“So, how many rooms have you gone through so far?” Zayn asks after a couple minutes of comfortable silence.

“Two. Reckon I might go mad before I get out of this hellhole, though.”

Zayn grimaces in agreement. “Been through three and the first one was the hardest. This kid was bawling his eyes out and I’m bloody sure that they shot him through the head or summat the minute I left. No one really knows what happens to them after we leave, yeah? All we see is that they’ve disappeared.”

Louis messes with his fringe, a nervous habit he’s had for as long as he could remember. “That’s the hardest part, I guess. Being forced to move on when nothing’s clear.”

“True. Hey, stop doing that,” Zayn stops him from running his fingers through his fringe again.

“Why?’ Louis asks, a bit dumbfounded. Why would Louis’ little habit bother him?

“’Cause you look so cute when you fix your fringe and I might forget that we’re in some deep shit and let my guard down completely. This is hardly an appropriate time to be flirting with some fit guy I just met,” Zayn smirks. Louis feels his cheeks flame up at the outlandish comment and he stares at the impeccable marble floor stretched out in front of them. Stupid suave Zayn.

“Shu-shut up!” he yells, accentuating it with a light punch to Zayn’s shoulder.

“Heh, adorable,” Zayn comments, the sly grin never leaving his face.

Louis sighs. Stupid cheeky bastard. He guesses that he’s stuck with Zayn for the duration since the only way they can part is through death, as morbid and twisted as that is. At least he’s fit.

And Louis immediately mentally slaps himself for thinking that.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Michael can’t take this shit anymore. Fourth room was just fucked up. The kid had been most positively bleeding and no, Michael couldn’t help him or anything. The official from earlier had made it clear that the consequences would not be preferable to anything. Michael was not a heartless person but at the same time, he had to take care of himself first in this kind of situation.

He curses loudly when the lights blink out. The hallways look a thousand times more sinister in the pitch-dark and he can’t even see his hands that are stretched out in front of him. Several minutes pass by and gradually, his eyes grow accustomed to the semi-darkness.

And then he screams an ear-splitting screech.

On full alert, Michael peeks around the corner and immediately lurches back when a figure springs forwards at him. He hisses in pain when something sharp grazes his upper arm and when he clamps his hand around it, warm wetness seeps out. Shit! If this gets infected, he’s done deal.

The creature screeches at him again and Michael wonders if it is affecting him somewhat. The sound is disorienting and painful to bear. The thing is a metallic animal of sorts that looks to be a hybrid of a horse and some sort of carnivore with grossly elongated fangs protruding from its mouth.

He has been given a weapon so the best he’s got in his knapsack is . . . the first-aid kit tin that’s the heaviest out of them. He throws the box at the creature’s head and it bounces off with a metallic clang. Fuck this. He retrieves the kit and then runs off full-speed away from it. Of course, he keeps his eyes open for any door since if he misses one even by mistake he’ll be ‘punished’ for it.

And that’s how he runs smack into someone about his height.

“Fuck, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” someone with a dialect from the South Block says. “What’d you see?”

Michael wipes the sweat off his forehead with the hem of his shirt and shrugs. “Dunno. Some robotic beast.” He does a quick glance-over of the boy. He’s tanned, black haired and of medium build. “I’m Michael.” He holds out his hand.

“Calum. Wanna team up?”

“If you can promise that you won’t kill me in my sleep,” Michael smirks.

“Deal,” Calum smiles back. “I like your hair, it’s cool.”

“Thanks.” Michael likes dyeing his hair so right now, it’s a mix of red and orange. Too bad he got thrown into this mess when he could have been going around picking up chicks or something. Funny how fate works out.

“I’m beginning to think that we should pay closer attention to the details of what happens here,” Calum says as they walk away from the metal monster. “When the lights went out, that thing appeared out of nowhere and attacked you, yeah?”

Michael nods, pretty sure of where Calum is going with this.

“So lights-out has to mean a new threat, possibly one of those man-made weapons. But from what we’ve seen, they have a designated sector that they guard or some shit. It’s not chasing after us or anything, which is good news for us. As long as we keep a low profile until the lights come back on, we should be relatively safe. Either that or find a safe zone and rest for a bit even though we’re hyper from the injection they give us. The rooms are plainly wrong, though. How can the Council condone something like this? The War happened generations ago yet we are still being punished for their ‘sins’.”

“That’s the thing about power,” Michael half-sighs. “It makes people do stuff that they’ll normally not do. It tweaks their psyche and morals and soon, they’ll do anything to ensure that they’ll stay in power forever. Power is neither good nor evil and it really is up to the user how the power will turn out. However, authority is a tricky thing to master.”

Calum echoes his sigh. “Let’s talk philosophy after we get out of this damned Mansion. I like you a lot already, Mr Deep Thoughts.”

Michael chuckles. “That’s me, Michael the Philosopher.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Luke is alone and scared. He’s gone through five rooms already and hours must have gone by, perhaps even a whole day. Some kind of robotic monster had leaped out of nowhere when the lights turned off all of a sudden and he had to run for his life from the distorted pincers and claws it had. The energy boost thing is doing its job keeping him from collapsing but one more shock to his system and he might be done for.

His ears perk up when he hears the middle of a conversation.

“. . . no we should explore the geography of the Mansion further before searching for the safe zones. We don’t know what else lurks here. Darkness signals for the robot shits but then what? There might be other subtle hints we might be missing for all we know.” The voice has a strong Northwest Block accent.

“But we can’t rely on the energy booster injection to last much longer, especially we we’ve no idea how much time has passed after we’ve been dropped off,” a South Block accented voice urges.

A shushing noise slices through the air. Luke hasn’t a clue what just happened and in the next heartbeat, his back is slammed roughly against a wall.

 

Instinctively, Luke raises his hand above his head and tries to remain motionless. Cold, yet warm blue eyes stare into his own for a long moment before the fingers around his neck loosens. They still maintain their grip but at least Luke isn’t on the verge of choking anymore.

“Who are you?” the sort-of blonde asks. It looks like his hair used to be bleached blonde but now most of it has grown out and the darker roots have come in. Behind him is a slightly taller young man with curly light brown hair with his hair pulled back with a bandana and kind green-brown eyes. Luke immediately recognises him as Ashton from his school who graduated a couple years ago.

“Luke. I swear I’m not a threat to you or something crazy. If you take me in, I’ll be grateful forever. I hate being alone and the last few hours have been unbearable for me.”

The curly haired boy’s eyes light up behind the blonde. “Wait, he’s from my Block. Kinda the golden boy in my school so we can trust him.”

Niall lowers his hand slowly. “If you make one wrong room, I’m feeding you to the metal monster shite.” Luke nods. “Name’s Niall.”

“Luke. And you’re Ashton, right?”

Ashton nods. “Wish we met under better circumstance, kid.”

“Yeah, don’t we all,” Luke agrees. “How many rooms have you been to?”

“Three for me, four for Niall,” Ashton.

“This is so fucked up,” Niall spits out. “Twenty-six kids picked out to possibly die and we can’t do nothing ‘bout it ‘cause we might die ourselves. Fucking heartless monsters.”

Luke sighs. “Sometimes, I feel like dying for the sake of those children might not be so horrible.”

Ashton grabs his shoulders and Luke looks up. Those green-brown eyes are filled with despair and determination. “Don’t you dare say that again. It’s true that it’s heartless to let those kids be dragged into whatever awful fate that awaits them but you always have to think about yourself first. Your family will be devastated if you don’t return home alive and besides, those kids’ parents might have given up on them earlier if they really are kids who had behavioural problems. It sounds bad but it’s realistic.”

Luke blinks a couple times. No one . . . no one has expressed such concern for him before and Ashton barely knows him. Has he always been this way or has the Mansion changed him?

“Anyway,” Niall’s drawl cuts back in, “as we were discussing. We should at least try to configure the layout of this place. It’s not like the walls are gonna move around, well hopefully not. Knowing the basic shape is going to help. And haven’t you wondered at least once why this place is called the Heartbeat Mansion? The past Runners aren’t allowed to tell and I bet it’s something that they installed to fuck with our minds even more. I really hate not knowing what we’re up against.”

Niall’s got a point. There has to be a logical explanation as to why the Heartbeat Mansion has its name. It couldn’t have been normal, considering how sinister the Council is.

“We’ll figure it out eventually,” Luke shrugs. “I vote for learning the layout of this place. Looks like you’re outnumbered, Ashton.”

Ashton pouts adorably. “Fine. But if the energy boost runs out and we have to deal with another one of those robot shits, I’m blaming both of you.”

 

 

Their little reconnaissance goes uneventful. All they learn is that yes, the hallways are twisted into maze-like forms and that there doesn’t seem to be a room nearby. They couldn’t have passed by one without realising since there hasn’t been the consequence the official told them of.

At least, that’s what Luke thought.

The hallways rumble and fill with a loud thumping sound. A heartbeat, he registers. Irregular and frantic, echoing throughout the space stretching out in front of them as though sound itself is alive and trying to wrap itself around the three of them.

“What the fuck is this?” Niall asks no one in particular, covering his ears. Luke is trying the same tactic but there is no blocking out the sound. It’s as though the Run officials are somehow amplifying their own heartbeats and making it resound in their ears. It’s painful and Luke’s heart races in his ribcage, unsure of what is going to happen.

“I got a bad feel—” Ashton’s words are cut off and the floor abruptly opens up and a void swallows them up. Air whooshes around them as they fall for what seems to be an eternity.

They land on something soft yet firm. Like a mattress. Luke gingerly sits up and gauges his muscle reactions. Nothing has broken and the others are relatively unharmed as well.

“Fuck,” Niall swears loudly. “Did we miss a room?”

Ashton chews on his bottom lip. “There were some seriously sharp corners and maybe we missed a door at the corner of summat. Either way, we’ve no choice but to suffer whatever our consequences are.”

Luke sighs, his eyes burning with tears. He’s not going to cry just because he is absolutely terrified. They’ll get out of his somehow.

The wall on the far side of them rumbles and a massive, deformed silhouette comes out of the opening. It looks like some sort of tree and it’s . . . . Luke throws up. The thing is so wrong and it shouldn’t be moving the way it is, much less alive. It’s wrong, how could the Council stoop this low?

In front of Niall, Ashton and Luke is what seems to be four kids sewn together. The kid in the centre has a body that look grotesquely stretched out and someone else’s torso is sticking out of his abdomen. Where his arms should be are two other kids, the place of attachment concealed by the overlarge shirt. Slowly, the mass of kids advance towards them and Luke swears that he can see blood dripping down each of the kids’ eyes.

“Fuckin’ ‘ell,” Niall curses even louder now. “That’s fuckin’ sick. Inhumane.”

Ashton grimaces. “Reckon we have to kill it? I don’t want to.”

‘Luke?” Niall slowly turns towards him. Luke hasn’t moved up from the position he was in when he’d thrown up, doubled up on the cold hard ground. The echoing sounds of heartbeat hasn’t ceased yet so it adds to the mild nausea that is churning up Luke’s insides. He knows that if he tries to move, he’ll throw up again or even pass out. Everything in his life has gone awry ever since his name had been announced in the Day of Choosing.

“Damn,” Niall grits out. “Ashton! Go help out with Luke, I’ll try to hold off this thing.”

The heartbeat sound intensifies and there’s airy breaths that add to it. Warm hands grip his shoulders gingerly and slowly, Luke looks up into green eyes that hold so much compassion and light.

“Calm down. I’m right here,” Ashton croons. Oh, Luke is hyperventilating. Is he going into a panic attack? It’s not an unnatural reaction to what he’s seen, he supposes. His shuddering gasps eventually quiet down to sobs that shake his entire body, and Ashton simply holds him through the entire moment. Ashton’s body temperature radiates throughout Luke’s body, lending him strength and the sense that he is cared for. That he’s not alone. That he’ll be alright.

“There, there,” Ashton coos into his ear. “See? Nothing can hurt you. I won’t let them.”

A little ways away, Niall is stood, panting heavily in Luke’s peripheral vision. The monstrous creation has stopped moving and the heartbeat sound seems to be subsiding, much to everyone’s relief. Is that blood on Niall’s shirt or . . . .

Everything greys out and then, colours fade into the night of black nothingsness.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“Fuck!” Zayn growls, dodging the arm that slashes down onto him.

Louis could echo the sentiment wholeheartedly. The lights had gone out again and this apelike thing with freakishly long arm shaped like blades appeared out of nowhere. He’s got his back flat against a wall and his heart feels as though it’s trying to escape his chest. His heart drops when scarlet liquid drips down to the floor from Zayn’s arms. The sleeve of his black leather jacket is torn and dyed a deep shade of red.

“We need to outrun this thing!” Louis urges, grabbing onto Zayn’s uninjured arm.

“Yeah,” he grits through the pain.

They only move maybe ten feet away from the beast when it stops dead in its tracks and runs back. Louis pushes Zayn onto the ground and takes the first-aid kit out of his rucksack. Thankfully, he finds some dressing and bandage for Zayn’s maimed arm. There is a spray bottle labelled ‘disinfectant’ so Louis rolls up Zayn’s sleeve and with an apologetic smile, sprays the reddened skin with it.

“Ugh!” Zayn pants, teeth biting into his lush bottom lip.

“Sorry, sorry!” Louis frantically mumbles. He presses the gauze to the gaping wound and wraps the stark white bandage around it tightly. The gauze feels slimy on one side so maybe it’s got some sort of ointment on it. Hopefully. “I’m done now. I forbid you from using your right arm though. Sucks that you’re right-handed, I know, but I’ll try to help you out as much as possible.”

Zayn smirks, something wicked sparkling in his hazel brown eyes. “So if I suddenly feel like having a wank, you’ll lend me a hand?”

Louis blushes scarlet to the tips of his ears. “There’s cameras everywhere, you tosser!”

The smirk widens. “Are you implying that you wouldn’t mind in a private place then?”

“You—ugh. Shut up,” Louis sputters, sorely tempted to poke at the bandage. But no, that’s too cruel.

He gasps when his vision darkens and before he knows it, he is pressed against the wall and Zayn’s eyes are extremely close to his. A faint smell of cigarettes drift down until a pair of slightly chapped, yet still-plump lips touch his. Zayn is dang goddamn good kisser, it turns out and Louis lets out a small moan as he kisses back. Slowly, Louis is lowered to the ground and a warm hand creeps up his chest underneath his shirt. Two fingers pinch his nipple and he pretty much yelps into Zayn’s warm and welcoming mouth. His lips are definitely curling up into a sly smile, Louis can feel it.

Zayn’s skilful tongue pries into his mouth and he doesn’t waste any time exploring every square inch of Louis’ mouth. Something metallic clanks against Louis’ teeth and shivers run down spine. Tongue piercings are supposed to feel amazing for kissing and other stuff, yeah? It certainly does feel good right now and . . . .

“Mmm?” Louis is confused for a second when Zayn abruptly pulls back and stares at him with lust and hunger clear in his eyes. In this semi-darkness, they look dark green and very, very sexy with his black leather jacket and combat boots—pretty much the epitome of the ultimate charming bad boy who could utterly ruin Louis.

“Can’t go further,” Zayn breathes out. “If I do, I won’t be able to stop.”

Against his better judgment, Louis hooks his arms around the back of Zayn’s neck and brings him back in for a kiss. Second time around, Zayn’s mouth feels even hotter and better, and his good arm retreats to go further down. Zayn clumsily undoes Louis’ belt and his fingers wrap around Louis’ slowly thickening cock.

“Haaa,” Louis moans as Zayn smears the precum around the tip. He even digs his fingertip into the slit slightly to heighten the pleasure and Louis has to practically gnaw on his bottom lip not to moan so loudly. Zayn’s hips are rocking into Louis slowly and he can tell that Zayn’s eager for it too. So Louis reaches down to undo Zayn’s belt and trousers to pull out his dick and pump it at the same pace Zayn is going at. Zayn then leans down further onto Louis’ body and carefully supports his weight on his left arm as he rubs his dick against Louis’. But Louis can still see the tinges of pain in Zayn’s face so he rolls them over as gently as possible and grasps their pricks together and move his hand up and down in a hasty speed.

“Zayn,” Louis gasps, his lower abdomen feeling so warm and his balls drawing tight.

“Yeah,” Zayn whispers, apparently on the same page. He drives his tongue into Louis’ mouth again steals his breath away with the heated kisses.

Louis comes as Zayn scratches lightly along the underside of his cock and he positively screams out Zayn’s name in ecstasy. And they hadn’t even done the full monty yet, how embarrassing. Zayn hasn’t come yet so feeling a bit downhearted, Louis scoots down to take Zayn’s erection into his mouth and sucks hard. He takes satisfaction in the ragged breath that escapes Zayn’s mouth and he runs the tip of his tongue up a vein and then under the head as well. It’s takes make a minute or two for Zayn to orgasm and the shock of bitter taste in his mouth causes Louis to splutter slightly.

“Soz,” Zayn mutters. “Tried t’ warn ya but you’re too damn good for your own good.”

Louis tries to emulate Zayn’s earlier sly grins. “Thanks. And uh, I guess it’s obvious that I fancy you quite a bit.”

A warm hand comes up to cover one side of his face. “When I first saw your face come up on the screen, I cursed god for putting such a beautiful soul into this wretched fate because even through the screen, I could see that your heart and soul was pure from the look in your eyes. You look petrified but also relieved, which I found odd and enchanting. You said that you have younger sisters so were you glad that you were Chosen, and not them?”

Tears well up at the brutal memories, and Louis can only nod.

“See, eyes really are the windows to the soul,” Zayn murmurs, softly kissing Louis’ eyelids.

When Louis re-opens his eyes and they focus on Zayn’s, he sees determination shine bright in Zayn’s eyes. “I promise that we’ll get us home safely, no matter what I have to do. I can give you that much.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“Fuck my life,” Calum spits out, and he means it. They had just been in their sixth room he’s been into and Michael looks about as done with all this bullshit as he is.

“Yeah,” Michael pants. They’d just run away from some monster again. By now, they’ve figured out that the sudden dark means the emergence of robotic monsters. They still have no idea what the heartbeat sound earlier meant, though. It must have been something awful because the effect had seemed so real and left Calum feeling extremely unsettled.

“Ten down, sixteen to go, huh?” Calum confirms.

“Eleven by my count.  I won’t be surprised if I go mad by the end,” Michael confesses, the searing look in his eyes earnest.

“Hey, don’t think like that,” Calum pats Michael’s fluffy hair. “Don’t give up hope that we can make it out somewhat normal. I’ve seen how people can end up after the Run, and it wasn’t pretty. Wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, especially not you.”

Michael smirks. “Is that so?”

Before Calum can decipher the smirk, his vision darkens and something soft touches his lips.

“For good luck,” Michael explains, pulling away. “And just in case one of us doesn’t make it.”

Stunned, Calum wills his feet to move and follow Michael down the hallway. The lights are on for now, but there is something eerie about them. Maybe it’s a fragment of Calum’s imagination but he keeps seeing flashes of pulsating red in the lights.

“Damn, the red light shit is starting to make my head hurt,” Michael grits out.

Calum grimaces in empathy. “Me too. The atmosphere is so eerie too . . . .”

Michael grabs Calum’s hand and pulls him closer. “Can’t be too safe, yeah? Don’t let your guard down even for one second. Who knows, this might mean that some other monster will come torture us. And—”

Calum doesn’t catch the end up Michael’s sentence because a spark of pain goes through his skull and he screams out, knees giving out. He sinks to the ground and the pain doesn’t let up at all. It’s like his brain is trying to tear itself apart, slashing and ripping and shredding. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Every inch of his skin is buzzing with agony and perhaps there is someone touching him. Inflicting the pain.

With great pain, Calum steels himself against it and lifts his head. What he sees makes his blood curdle and eyes widen with fear. The thing in front of him is humane but the eyeteeth poking out have to be at least three inches long and its eyes are the colour if fresh blood. Blood tears are also trickling out of its eyes and tiny crimson rivulets run down its cheeks and then slowly down the neck, eventually soaking its initially white clothes red.

“Get the fuck away from me!” Calum yells, lashing out with his weakened arms. The pain finally releases its hold on him and he uses the creature’s momentary disorientation to run away. The light is pulsing with red and white, but Calum pays no mind to it. He’ll worry about it when he isn’t in imminent danger of being maimed by a creature from hell.

The creature’s mouth open and close, as though crying to communicate. Calum can’t make out the words it is desperately saying and even though it sickens him down to the core, he roundhouse kicks it in the guts. The thing stumbles back but it resumes its pursuit quickly. It’s weird, Calum, realises, that the creature isn’t even trying to attack Calum at all. It’s purely on the defensive and despite its atrocious appearance, it doesn’t seem aggressive.

It grabs onto Calum’s arm and tries to tug him in. Acting on instinct, Calum shakes it off and runs away. His lungs burn and constrict horribly, his heartbeat pounding away in his ears, but he has to get away. He can’t stop now.

He’s no idea how long he’s been running but gradually, he notices that the lights are normal.   No longer pulsating, it’s back to that soft off-white colour. Calum’s legs give out and he sits down with his back on the wall.

“Calum?” Michael’s voice calls out. Calum turns around to the voice and sees an injured Michael running towards him. “You alright now?”

“Yeah. Did you see that monster that . . . .” Calum trails off because the truth has hit him like a freight train.

Michael was the monster. Calum had been hallucinating. There had been no monster, all there was himself and Michael in the hallway back then.

“Shit. I’m so sorry,” Calum apologizes, staggering up and then approaching Michael. His body is still too weak from the after effects of whatever has caused him to hallucinate and he falls. Thankfully, Michael catches him and lowers him to the ground gently. From the ground looking up, Calum can see scratches on Michael’s cheek and other signs of resistance on his body.

“None of that was your fault,” Michael soothes. He takes out a bottle of water from the rucksack and helps Calum into a half-sitting position. Calum drinks the water slowly and then lies back down. “The lights must have had some properties that overrode the visual system part of your brain and made you hallucinate. I don’t know why it didn’t affect me but who knows. The Council is a jumble of fucked-up people and I don’t think I’d wanna know what goes on in twisted minds of theirs.”

Tears well up in Calum’s eyes and Michael flashes him a soft smile. “Seriously, forget about it. Just rest, since you’ve conveniently run into the safe zone. We can stay here for twelve hours, yeah? Sleep for now and I’ll stand guard just in case.”

Michael leans in to kiss his eyelids and that helps dissipate the knots in Calum’s stomach. So he lets out a small sigh and shuts his eyes, letting the exhaustion finally sweep him away to sleep.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“What was that?” Harry asks. The corridor has been filled with the echoes of a loud, frantic heartbeat and it makes him feel queasy inside.

Liam furrows his brows. “No clue. It must be another signal that something’s happened. I hope it’s not for us. Have we done anything that could result in a new threat, Harry? ‘Cause after the last room, I am so ready for the safe zone and my twelve hours of peace and quiet.”

Harry grimaces. They’ve just come out of their fourth room and it had been awful. He thinks that the officials are deliberately making it so that each room gets consecutively worse for each team.

“I wonder how many the others have gone through so far,” Liam muses.

“Well, I hope they’ve each got at least four down. Assuming that they’ve formed teams like us, that’s about half of the Mansion done. Time’s hard to judge but I’ll have to assume that it’s been at least half a day given all the interruptions we’ve had along the way,” Harry deduces. “I don’t think any of the Runners were away for longer than three days, and that was usually if the Runners were younger.”

“This year, the youngest is eighteen, yeah?” Liam confirms.

“Yup. So we shouldn’t take too long. Best case scenario, we’ll be out of here by tomorrow.”

In a few minutes, Harry spots a wall marked with a green square. Actually, the entire safe zone is painted green on the flow along with the walls and the alcove even provides them with a softer floor that they could sleep on.

“Huh,” Liam muses, poking at the ground. “At least they care an infinitesimal amount for us.”

Harry snorts out a laugh. “Better than nothing. I wonder what the real purpose of the Run is, though. Punishing us for the War that happened generations ago can’t be all there is to it.”

Liam nods in agreement then yawns loudly. “Whatever. I just wanna put this all behind me as soon as I can.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Luke slowly blinks awake to the sensation of something cool pressing on his forehead. Ashton’s worries face comes into view and behind him is Niall, sat propped against the wall. Luke notices that Niall’s breathing is shallow and when he trails his gaze down, he sees a pool of red on his side.

“Nuh-uh,” Ashton rebuts when Luke tries to sit up. “We’re in the safe zone for the next ten hours and we aren’t gonna waste it. You passed out after going into shock so we gotta treat ya accordingly.” It’s only then that Luke realises that he is wrapped in what must be fifty layers of blankets and Ashton is in his little cocoon with him.

“How ‘bout Niall?” he croaks.

“’M fine,” Niall answers with a grimace. “It’s a flesh wound but the thing pretty much peeled off several layers of my skin and that’s why it was bleeding a lot. The disinfectant stopped a bleeding a bit and I’m waiting for it to stop completely before I change clothes.”

The cool damp cloth feels nice against Luke’s feverish skin and he nods compliantly. He nuzzles into the crook of Ashton’s neck and to his delight, Ashton giggles.

“Hey, that tickles!” Ashton protests.

“Hmm, whatever. You knew that risks when you volunteered yourself to be my personal heater,” Luke mumbles.

Niall coos, “Cute. If I wasn’t worn out by fighting that thing earlier I’d be puking at the adorableness.”

Luke feels his cheeks burn hotter than the rest of his already heated body. “Shut up,” Ashton chides for him. And to make matters worse, he kisses Luke’s forehead. “Just sleep, Luke. We’re all tired and sleep sounds heavenly.”

Niall makes an agreeing sound and with that, Luke lets himself drift asleep again.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Louis wakes to someone’s warm weight on his body and oh, it’s Zayn. Zayn’s body is draped atop Louis as if to protect him from any harm that may come their way. They managed to find a safe zone and decided to rest for a bit. He’s got no idea how much time has passed since the officials had stripped them of their personal belongings. From the grogginess and sluggish feeling in his muscles, it must have been several hours.

“Zayn, wake up!” Louis nudges at Zayn’s sides carefully. The tanned man groans and his arms encircle Louis, holding him quite tightly. Something scratchy rubs along the side of his neck and it occurs to Louis that Zayn is nuzzling his stubble-covered cheek on Louis’ neck. He’s always been a sucker for a handsome man with a stubble and he’ll be lying if he said that this didn’t turn him on.

“Hmm,” Zayn hums, obviously feeling Louis’ morning wood against his thigh. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“But your arm—” Louis’ weak protests are cut off by Zayn’s prickly mouth covering his, tongue instantly prying into his mouth. Okay so maybe Louis is being selfish by letting Zayn manhandle him but it’s just hormones and he is a healthy young lad with a healthy libido befitting his age. Zayn’s left arm immediately goes into his boxers as he rolls them over so that Zayn is now on the bottom. He then nudges at Louis until he turns around.

“You’ve got a gorgeous arse,” Zayn compliments, lightly biting into it. It thrills Louis because the spot Zayn’s bitten is so close to his hole and he timidly licks at the base of Zayn’s dick. Zayn laps at his entrance in teasing, feather-light strokes before he holds it open with his fingers and delves his tongue inside. Louis’ glad that he hasn’t put Zayn’s dick inside his mouth yet because he would have bitten into it.

He comes to his senses quickly once he gets used to the ticklish pleasure and pops Zayn’s prick in his mouth. He can’t pull up his usual tricks so he just bobs his head up and down dutifully whilst playing with the balls in his hands.  Zayn’s hand idly tugs at Louis’ cock every once in a while, heightening his pleasure even more and because they have just woken up, they come pretty quickly.

“We have to stop doing that!” Louis chastises once he gets his breath back and hands a bottle of water to Zayn. There are several water bottles lined up on one of the walls as well as some thermos so he stuffs them all into his knapsack.

“I’m pretty sure I feel loads better with extra endorphins in my system,” Zayn smirks. He then darts in to kiss the corner of Louis’ mouth. “Had some on ya.”

Louis flushes red. “Let’s redress your wound before we leave here.”

To both their immense surprise, the wound looks days old when Louis uncovers it. He tosses the blood-soaked dressing and bandages to the ground and applies more of the disinfectant, redoes the dressing and wraps Zayn’s arm tightly in the bandage.

“Maybe the thing’s got some substance that speeds up skin regeneration,” Zayn guesses, twisting his arms experimentally. “The damage is dermis deep at most, so it’ll scar for sure. None of my nerves were damaged so we should be safe. I’ll try not to move my arms to much to be safe.”

Louis smiles. “That’s all I ask for.”

 

 

They have been walking down a random corridor for maybe half an hour (and went through another room, labelled _K_ ) when they hear a conversation drift down the hallway. Zayn throws out his arm to stop Louis and motions him to flatten themselves against the wall around the corner.

“If you feel dizzy or anything out of the ordinary at any time, tell us,” a South Block accent urges.

“Alright, Ashton. You don’t have to baby me so much,’ a different South Block accent retorts.

“This is serious,” this time it’s a Northwest Block accent that speaks. “You were out of it, Luke so we’re not being ridiculous. You went into shock, yeah, but I don’t think people normally black out from it.”

Zayn decides that these people are safe so he emerges from his hiding spot. “Normally, no. But depending on the trauma, each person’s body responds differently.”

To his shock, a lad with tufts of blond left on his brown hair points a spear at him. The blade of it is hallow at the centre and it’s made of metal down to the handle. But judging by his unwavering arms, it’s got to be made of something light and easy to use. “Who are you?” he asks in a hostile tone.

“I’m Zayn and he’s Louis,” Zayn answers calmly. “We haven’t killed anyone, I swear, and we’ve gone through six rooms so far.”

The guy in the front lowers his weapon and gestures for his teammates to come forth. “Me name’s Niall and that’s Ashton and Luke. We apparently missed a door ‘cause we had to face some monster that looked like several kids were sewn together. After I killed it somehow, this spear thingy dropped down and we were brought up from some basement that we were dropped into. Luke here,” he points to the blond behind him, “went into shock and passed out for two hours after that.”

Zayn purses his lips. “I’m training to be a doctor and it looks like Luke was pretty drained mentally compounding to the shock. We shouldn’t do anything that would jar him too much for the next little while but considering that we’re in this blasted Mansion, that’s next to impossible.”

“So that’s what the heartbeat meant?” Louis chimes in. “Louis,” he introduces himself belatedly.

Ashton sighs heavily. “Yeah. So you guys heard it too?”

“Yup. Fucking creepy, that was,” Louis comments. “Glad you made it out safely though.”

Luke snickers. “Us too. So wanna join our team? Safety in numbers, yeah?”

Zayn nods. “Of course.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“Hey, you awake yet?” Michael’s voice filters in and Calum opens his eyes. Michael’s face is looming above his and at a close distance too.

“Yeah,” he mumbles, brain still foggy with sleep.

“Dunno how long it’s been but I think we should get going,” Michael urges.

“’Kay.”

Calum stands up slowly under Michael’s watchful eyes and they set off. They have gone down to the end of a hallway when they hear people whispering amongst themselves. They are too far away to decipher the words so they decide to show themselves.

“Who are you?” a bloke with curly brown hair and a slow North Block accent asks.

“Michael and Calum. We promise that we won’t kill you or anything crazy.”

The other one, the guy with bulging arm muscles and serious brows stares at them. Then he breaks out into smile that makes him resemble a big Labrador. “Okay, I’ll believe you. I’m Liam and this is Harry. We’ve gone through six room, how about you guys?”

“Us too,” Michael answers. “So I guess it’s safe to assume that altogether, we’ve made it through eighteen to maybe even all of them.”

Harry shakes his head. “They would probably announce it if we have. Although, those bastards might keep us in the dark and watch us slowly descend into madness.” And then in the next moment, he literally walks into something solid yet warm.

“Watch it!” a Northwest Block accent rings out, as two hands grip him under his shoulders to steady him. Harry looks up and finds himself mesmerised by ocean blue eyes. It’s the boy from before, the one he saw right before he passed out in the hovercraft.

“Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I went!” Harry defends himself, jerking himself away from his grip.

The other bloke’s eyes soften. He reaches out with his left hand to twine a finger in Harry’s curls and tugs playfully. “What’s your name, pretty boy?”

Harry flushes bright red. Biting at his lower lip, he answers timidly, “Harry. And you?”

“Niall. The rest of my team are behind me, or should be unless they wanna suffer through the punishment again.”

Again? Did the heartbeat sound mean that Niall’s team were getting punished? “What do you mean, punished?”

A grimace flashes across Niall’s face before he schools it into a neutral one. “We missed a room by accident and got dropped into a room where some monster made of several kids sewn together tried to kill us. I had to kill it before they let us go. Good thing is, they gave us this.” Niall holds out a spear that Harry has missed before somehow.

“Cool!” Michael says, jumping forwards. “I’m Michael and these are Calum and Liam. Is the rest of us in your team or do we still have more people to look out for?”

“There’s five of us in me team so I guess that’s all of us. Unless the Council is fucked up enough to pick another one in secret and have ‘em running around as well. I really hope not.”

“Hey, Niall, who ya talkin’ to?” someone asks, and Harry sees a cheery face with light brown curls framing it poke out from behind Niall.

“Hey, Ashton. This is Harry and his team.”

They go through the introductions and establish that together, they’ve completed twenty room inspections. Naturally they decide to form a joint team with all nine of them together unanimously.

Going through the rooms in a larger number makes Harry feel more at ease somehow. Or maybe it’s just Niall’s positive and upbeat demise no matter what they are confronted with. Or maybe it’s the way he keeps catching Niall looking his way before he turns away with rosy cheeks, biting at his lower lip quite cutely. Whatever the reason may be, Harry enjoys having Niall around quite a bit.

They are down to their last room when they cross a safe zone.

“Can we please take a break?” Luke asks, his cheeks tinted red and eyes feverish. Zayn did mention earlier that Luke, Ashton and Niall went through quite the trauma and Luke had it worse. He called it post-traumatic stress disorder and apparently, it can take a toll of someone mentally and physically as well. So they stop there and all sleep for the next little while.

Right before Harry is about to escape into the land of dreams and endless hope, he feels someone’s warm hand snake around his waist to hold his hand. When he cranes his neck around, he sees that it’s Niall.

“I sleep better when I’m cuddling someone,” Niall explains, pressing his body even closer to Harry’s. Harry can feel his body heat radiate from Niall’s slim form and it does make him feel more relaxed and safe. It surprises him when Niall’s soft warm lips press against the nape of his neck.

“I know this sounds mental but I’m glad I got Chosen ‘cause otherwise, I never would have known you. I know we only met but somehow, I can feel something stronger that attraction towards you. After this is over, perhaps we can try dating or summat. I dunno.”

Slowly, as not to startle Niall, Harry turns around in Niall’s half-embrace. He brings up one hand to cup Niall’s cheek and whispers: “I would love to.”

A tender smile graces Niall’s features as he closes the distance between their lips. “That’s a promise that we’ll get out safely.” He pecks Harry’s lips again. “And this is just in case.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“God, Zayn!” Louis whispers frantically, looking around. His sisters and his mum had literally just left the house two seconds ago and now, Zayn is all over him lie a starved wolf and Louis happens to be a bunny that was hopping along innocently. They are lying down on the living room couch and Jay will not be happy if she finds any suspicious stains on her favourite couch.

“You look so delicious, babe,” Zayn says, emphasizing his point by licking at Louis’ neck.

“Couch—no go—room!” Louis cuts himself off because Zayn has latched onto his soft spot and began to suck a massive love bite onto it.

“Got it, boss.” Zayn sweeps him up and carries him away to his room. Once they’re there, he throws Louis onto his bed and then crawls over him like a predator hunting down its prey. Louis gulps and a shot of arousal courses throughout his body under Zayn’s unrelenting gaze. Zayn unzips Louis’ trousers slowly with his teeth and then licks up the inside of his thigh. They fucked last night too, and his body remembers the feel of Zayn’s body all over him (and inside him) all too well.

“Fuckin’ tease,” Louis complains when Zayn tamps his lips down around Louis’ cock through his boxers.

“But you look extra tasty all flustered and begging to be fucked,” Zayn explains shamelessly, nibbling lightly on Louis’ tip.

“Uh-huh,” Louis’ voice is pinched and embarrassingly high-pitched.

Zayn looks like sin personified as he looks up from beneath his long sooty lashes as he slides Louis’ underwear down and takes out a packet of lube from his trousers. He tears it open with his teeth. He quickly coats his fingers with it and then pushes one finger inside of Louis much to his delight.

“Fi-fucking-nally,” Louis breathes out, rocking his hips down to draw in Zayn’s finger as much as possible.

“Fuck, you’re loosening up so nicely for me,” Zayn muses, adding a second finger. He’s met with practically no resistance so he crooks them against the prostate before pulling both of them out.

“Ready?” he asks, spreading Louis’ thighs and positioning himself.

“Duh,” Louis replies with a roll of his eyes.

With a laugh, Zayn leans down to kiss him and slowly give himself over to the pleasure and happiness of being Louis’ one and only.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“I’m so glad you’re still you,” Sophia says, hugging him tightly.

It’s been a few weeks since he returned home from the Run and whilst he will forever be scarred from what’s happened, he is still him.

“Me too. Because otherwise, I couldn’t have done this.”

With that, Liam get on one knee and pulls out a small velvet box from his pocket.

“Sophia Anne Smith, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife and making me the luckiest man alive?”

Sophia brings her hand to her mouth and nods. “Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!”

Laughing and crying at the same time, Liam stand up to hold Sophia up and spin her around. He’s truly at peace now, knowing that the rest of his life can be spent with the ones he loves.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“I’ll never get used to this,” Harry muses, hooking his chin over Niall’s shoulder as they gaze into the sea.

With their winnings, they built a house right by the beach that Niall adores. The setting sun basks them in its red and gold glow and Niall’s blue eyes shimmer with the light as he twists his neck around to kiss him. “I’ll never get used to this either,” Niall says, his lips brushing Harry’s.

“Yeah, me neither.”

Grinning, Niall turns around and embraces Harry tightly as he brings their lips together once more. This time, their kisses are more urgent, passionate, and lustful. Slowly, Niall lowers Harry to the blanket-covered sand and kisses him everywhere: his eyelids, his cheeks, his nose, his lips, his chin, his neck, his chest . . . .

Eventually, Niall’s mouth stops at the belt and he impatiently unbuckles it. His lips follow his hands and before Harry knows it, Niall is lapping softly at his entrance.

“Niall!” Harry calls out, desperately gripping at Niall’s hair.

“Mm, love it when you say me name like that,” Niall comments with a sly wink. He adds a lube-slicked finger as well and hits his sweet spot just perfectly.

Niall surely takes his time prepping Harry and by the time he slides inside, Harry is begging for it. Niall stays perfectly once he is all the way in and kisses Harry sweetly until all traces of pain leaves Harry’s body like he always does. Harry brings his hand up to touch the side of Niall’s cheek and Niall covers it with his own. He turns his face slightly to kiss the palm of Harry’s hand before he finally moves.

It’s always so intense when Harry and Niall make love, or at least that’s how it feels like to Harry. Maybe it’s because he has never made love, per se, but with Niall, everything is different. He could spend an eternity simply gazing into Niall warm oceanic eyes and be content with it.

“I love you,” Niall breathes out, breaths coming out all staccato, “so much, Harry.”

“I love you too,” Harry gasps out, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.

“Until the end and even beyond that,” Niall promises solemnly, kissing the corner of Harry’s mouth.

 

 

Afterwards, Niall shakes off the blanket and wraps it around both of them. They spent a few more minutes into the night-stained sky. The sea was as restless as always and the sounds of waves washing ashore was calming as Harry basked in Niall’s warm embrace.

They kept the blanket wrapped around them as make their way to their house. They have a cuppa before they hop in the shower and then go to bed. Harry snuggles into Niall’s side as if he’s always done that and smiles as Niall’s arms come up to cage him in.

“Good night,” Niall drawls, voice thick with sleep already.

“Night.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

“You are an absolute menace to my health,” Calum accuses as he and Michael step inside their house.

Michael laughs, shaking his rain-soaked hair in Calum’s face. “All I did was pinch your fabulous arse in public. Nothing too indecent in that!”

Calum glowers at him. “In front of my mum and sister!”

His boyfriend smirks at him. “What are ya gonna do about it then?”

He continues to glower until Calum literally throws him over his shoulder and then proceeds to carry him to their room upstairs. He then promptly places Calum on the bed before kissing him hungrily.

“Go on,” Michael coaxes, that playful teasing tone still in his voice.

Oh, Calum is going to make Michael regret those words.

He kisses Michael without a words whilst simultaneously undoing his trousers and pulling out his still-soft cock. He then presses his thumbnail into the slit lightly, evoking a loud moans from Michael. Calum knows that Michael loves the way he looks blowing him so he purposefully drags out the waiting time. Or at least, that was his intention.

“Sorry, Cal,” Michael smirks, not looking apologetic a bit. “No teasing.”

It feels like Michael is trying to devour Calum as he undresses Calum and then brings their cocks together. Precum has already begun to wet Calum’s dick and the light friction as Michael rubs their cocks together makes Calum’s skin tingle with pleasure.

One day, Calum vows. He will one-up Michael.

But for now, he will let himself be won over by the pleasure.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Luke was so surprised and immensely happy when Ashton asked him if he wanted to move in with him. Of course, Luke said yes. His mother seemed happy, or maybe she was having a hard time dealing with the post-Run Luke. He nightmares almost every night and he screamed until his voice was gone. He would even claw at his own arm until he awoke, and wake to the sight of his sheets bloodied and wet from his sweat and blood.

Ashton was like an antidote against those horrific memories. Somehow, his mind and body knew that he was safe when Ashton was around. His nightmares gradually came to a stop once he moved into his and Ashton’s own little house. (If there was one tiny good thing that came out of the Run, it was the winnings. Luke bought a much nicer house for his family and the look in his mum’s eyes almost made the Run worth the agony.)

“You doing alright” Ashton asks, bringing a mug of steaming coffee to him.

Luke smiles. “Been worse.” He takes a sip of it and comments, “How do you make it so perfectly all the time?”

Ashton shrugs. He bends down to kiss Luke and then seats himself on the couch as well. “That’s a trade secret that I will never tell you.

The blond takes another sip and the places the mug on the coffee table. He then climbs onto Ashton’s lap and presses his palm to Ashton’s bare chest. “I’ll win you over somehow. You love me so there should be no secrets between us.”

“I think this one teeny secret keeps our lives a bit more interesting,” Ashton counters.

Luke pouts. Ashton laughs softly as he grips the back of Luke’s neck and brings him in for a kiss. It starts out chaste and sweet but Luke grows impatient quickly. It’s not about the coffee anymore, more like he is still a horny teenager and the sight of Ashton’s bare chest and yummy arms are doing nowt to amend that.

“Ash!” Luke gasps out when Ashton’s kisses veers off to the side and trail off the side of his neck and then slowly to his chest. Both of them are shirtless so that one less step at least. Instead of answering, Ashton takes one nipple into his mouth and sucks on it hard. A strangled moan makes it way past Luke’s lips and it only spurs on Ashton even more.

Eventually, both of them end up in the nude and Ashton is nudging a lubed finger inside of Luke. Since they just had sex in the morning, this step is just Ashton being considerate and it only drives Luke mad with the want. Sensing Luke frustration, Ashton pushes in another one just to make sure and then pulls them out. He takes out a condom from down the back of the sofa and rolls it on swiftly. Luke helps him slather his dick with more lube and then he climbs over him until he is straddling Ash. With a sly smile of his own, he impales himself onto Ash’s cock slowly.

Ashton’s hands move up to steady Luke and they kiss until Luke decides he is ready to move. He starts off with figure-eights and gradually changes them into frantic bobbing. He clings to Ashton’s neck with his arms and Ashton responds in kind by gripping his hips hard enough to leave bruises, which thrills Luke a bit. They found out early in their relationship that Luke has a kink for hickeys and whatnot and Ashton thoroughly enjoyed exploiting that kink. Once, he left a hickey so large on Luke’s throat that it looked like he’s been strangled. So he had to cover it up with a scarf despite the fact that it was midsummer and much to everyone else’s teasing delight.

Time seems to stretch out when they make love and Luke breathes out Ashton’s name when pleasure wrecks him in waves. Ashton comes soon after as well and they stay in that position for a bit longer before Ashton pulls Luke up and takes his cock out.

“Thank you for staying with me,” Luke says, brain still hazy from his orgasm.

“You don’t need to thank me. Staying with someone with a pure heart like yours is my honour and pleasure. I love you, and I’ll continue to love you no matter what happens. Besides, if we can get out of the Heartbeat Mansion in one piece, what can really faze us?”

Luke smiles. Yeah. As long as he’s got Ashton, he’ll be safe. Nothing can harm him whilst he is in Ashton’s strong, loving arms.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry about the Human Centipede-ish moment. Never seen the movie but I've heard more than enough about it :S


End file.
